Global high-impact entrepreneurship community Endeavor has announced the selection of 18 new Endeavor Entrepreneurs from 10 companies following its 105th International Selection Panel (ISP) held in Stellenbosch, South Africa. The latest cohort includes prominent founders from the MENA region, marking significant milestones for the ecosystem, including the selection of the organization’s first-ever entrepreneur from Sudan, alongside innovators from Saudi Arabia and a Pakistan-based healthtech firm expanding into the Kingdom.
Transforming The Saudi Rental Market
Representing the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the co-founders of Ejari—Yazeed Al-Shamsi, Khalid Almunif, and Fahad Albedah—were selected for their “rent now, pay later” solution. Founded in 2022, Ejari addresses the liquidity challenges in the Saudi rental market, where annual contracts are the norm. The platform transforms the leasing experience by renting units directly and re-leasing them to tenants via flexible monthly payment plans. Leveraging Saudi Arabia’s digital government infrastructure for data and KYC, Ejari has already served over 15,000 users, offering instant, personalized quotes and easing the financial burden of rental inflation.
A Milestone For Sudanese Fintech
In a historic move for the network, Tarneem (Nina) Saeed, founder of Cashi, was selected as the first Endeavor Entrepreneur from Sudan. Established in 2020, Cashi is a fintech firm building a vital digital payments network in a market with limited banking infrastructure. The platform provides a merchant-focused POS device and a consumer wallet, allowing users to pay bills and transfer money digitally. Despite the challenges posed by the conflict in Sudan, Saeed has scaled the company to over two million registered users and 150,000 merchant agents, providing essential financial services to the unbanked population.
Bridging Healthcare Between Pakistan And Saudi Arabia
The panel also selected Dr. Saira Siddique, founder of MedIQ, an integrated healthcare ecosystem originally founded in Pakistan. MedIQ connects patients, providers, and payers through a suite of digital solutions, including electronic health records and automated claims management. While the company has served over four million individuals in Pakistan, it successfully expanded into Saudi Arabia in 2023. This expansion highlights the growing trend of cross-border scaling within the broader MENA region, with MedIQ bringing its technology to the GCC market.
About Endeavor
Endeavor is the leading global community of, by, and for high-impact entrepreneurs. Founded in 1997, the organization supports entrepreneurs who have the potential to grow at scale and commit to mentoring the next generation of founders. Through its rigorous International Selection Panels, Endeavor identifies founders with the greatest growth potential and provides them with access to markets, capital, and talent. The organization currently supports over 3,000 entrepreneurs leading more than 2,000 companies worldwide.
Source: Endeavor
